Program Overview

Biology, B.S. - BS to MS Accelerated Pathway

The Biology, B.S. - BS to MS Accelerated Pathway program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in biology, preparing them for a career in the field or for further graduate study.

General Education Requirements

All bachelor's degree programs include liberal education (LEP) and writing (W) course requirements. The program outline and graduation requirements are listed below. In addition, free electives are selected to reach 120 credits overall, and a 3.0 cumulative GPA is required for graduation.

Major Requirements (37 Credits)

A GPA of 3.0 is required in the major. The major requirements include:

• Biology Requirements (26 Credits)
  • BIO 102 Biology I ('C' or better)
  • BIO 103 Biology II ('C' or better) (T2LE)
  • BIO 220 Genetics ('C' or better)
• Anatomy/Physiology: One Entry Level course from:
  • BIO 230 Plant Anatomy and Morphology
  • BIO 231 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
  • BIO 235 Histology
  • BIO 250 Plant Diversity
• Biodiversity/Ecology/Organismal Biology: One Entry Level course from:
  • BIO 202 Ecology
  • BIO 210 Environmental Biology and Conservation
  • BIO 215 Animal Behavior
  • BIO 228 Vertebrate Zoology
  • BIO 229 Invertebrate Zoology
• Cell/Molecular: One Entry Level course from:
  • BIO 205 Forensic Biology
  • BIO 233 Introductory Microbiology
  • BIO 236 Cell Biology
  • BIO 240 Human Heredity
  • BIO 296 Genomics I
• Required:
  • BIO 499 Independent Study and Research (3 cr)

Accelerated Pathway Requirements (11 Credits)

• Anatomy/Physiology: One Upper Level course ('B' or better required) from:
  • BIO 505 Marine Mammal Physiology
  • BIO 529 Endocrinology
  • BIO 537 Plant Anatomy and Physiology
  • BIO 545 Immunology
  • BIO 552 Human and Medical Genetics
  • BIO 555 Neurobiology
• Biodiversity/Ecology/Organismal Biology: One Upper Level course ('B' or better required) from:
  • BIO 501 Conservation Ecology
  • BIO 502 Population and Community Biology
  • BIO 504 Evolution
  • BIO 512 Marine Invertebrate Ecology
  • BIO 513 Coastal Ecosystem Management
  • BIO 525 Ichthyology
  • BIO 526 Herpetology
  • BIO 534 Stream Ecology
  • BIO 536 Marine Algae
  • BIO 540 Biogeography
  • BIO 582 Biological Illustration
• Cell/Molecular: One Upper Level course ('B' or better required) from:
  • BIO 518 Advanced Microbiology
  • BIO 519 Emerging Infectious Diseases
  • BIO 541 Tissue Culture Workshop
  • BIO 547 Virology
  • BIO 551 Molecular and Developmental Genetics
• Required:
  • BIO 550 Research Methods in Biology (1 credit)
  • BIO 560 General Topics Seminar (1 credit)

Cognate Requirements (28 Credits)

• CHE 120 General Chemistry I (T2PR)
• CHE 121 General Chemistry II
• CHE 260 Organic Chemistry I
• MAT 122 or MAT 150 Precalculus or Calculus I (T1QR)
• MAT 221 Intermediate Applied Statistics
• Select one from:
  1. PHY 200 and PHY 201 General Physics I and II
  2. PHY 230 and PHY 231 Physics for Scientists and Engineers I and II